Tag: new

Friends, followers, and readers..lately I’ve been thinking about the people & things who inspire me most in life. I look up to those who choose to not only surround themselves with positivity and love but more importantly individuals who choose their path to success, creativity, and goals over anything else. I just adore passionate people. Even if those people are passionate about the silliest and most far out of dreams, I’m incredibly fond of ambition.

“Be thankful for what you have, be fearless for what you want”

I bring this up today because I’ve been struggling with where I see myself in the future. The next coming weeks, months, and years are still so scary to identify as a mystery. Many things will be changing soon and I’m nervous as to what the consequences or successes will be once my decisions are finalized. Will I let people down? Is this really where I’m meant to be? So many questions!

I have always been one who takes risks and works hard. Yet, at times, I feel like my strategies to making things happen often gets skewed. I procrastinate a lot, forget details, and rush myself. Most days, I spend ungodly amounts of time worrying about others rather than myself. I worry about what they may think of me or rather how they’ll react to my accomplishments and failures. I lose focus of what my ending intentions are and think more about if what I’m doing now, is perfect. It’s probably a very unhealthy way to live, if I’m being honest.

I’m working on that though and find comfort when I recognize many influential people go through the same struggle. It’s hard now but I’m sure things will get better. That’s always been my motto. Persistence.

“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think of what could go right”

Anyways, I’m rambling now and just wanted to hop on to say hello or I guess just document how I’m feeling in this exact moment. Let me know below if you guys ever feel stuck like I do now. How did you move forward? Leave me a comment so we can chat – see you guys in a few days with another post!

Smoothie bowls are tasty little treats filled with literal goodness. A thick base of blended frozen fruit starts the process. From there, it’s undoubtedly time to garnish with freshly cut fruit slices, granola for crunch, and handfuls of super foods. Everything comes together to make one flavorful breakfast that seriously anyone would enjoy.

So, this smoothie bowl kick isn’t new. I’ve loved these things for a while. But here’s my problem…purchasing them from people who sell them in a shop get expensive. The average cost for some of the bowls I’ve gotten are anywhere from $7 to $14 bucks. A little pricey don’t you think?! Unfortunately, with all the packed nutrients and ingredients, it’s reasonable for retailers to sell at this price-point. My wallet just can’t keep up!

Because this breakfast is probably my most eaten meal at the moment, I wanted to share a recipe I’ve been making at home. It’s similar to what you’d buy at a smoothie place but portion controlled with ingredients bought in bulk (this way we can make more than one yummy bowl).

The above bowl was purchased at a shop in my area. Here are the things we need to make a near copy of this!

Banana (frozen and fresh)

Strawberries (frozen and fresh)

Frozen blueberries

Natural Valley Granola

Coconut flakes

Flax seed

Honey or agave

Peanut butter

Almond Milk

Start by blending your frozen blueberries, banana, and strawberries with roughly 1/2 to a cup of your chosen milk. Pulse the mixture until thick.

Near the end of the blending, add in 1 tbsp of peanut butter. If peanut butter isn’t your fav, you can always opt for almond butter! Whatever you choose, blend the mixture again until smooth.

Transfer your smoothie into a bowl and begin slicing/topping with fresh banana and strawberries.

Summer is at its end and I’m realizing now that I never talked about my trip to Fort Lauderdale back in July! I was there for two weeks with the hubs exploring the area, eating good food, and making new memories. If you didn’t already know this, my husband is deployed. So these special few days were long-awaited to say the least.

Our stay began at the Hilton Marina in the center of Fort Lauderdale, FL. We booked a room with intercostal views because…what’s better to wake up to than the ocean right? The heat was incredibly strong the first day we arrived and that definitely continued throughout our stay. Humid, humid, humid is all I have to say about that. And despite baking anywhere we went during the day hours, nights were comfortable.

Moving on from the weather, I wanted to touch on some of the things we did and what I’d recommend if any of you plan on visiting! I’ve got to admit, this vacation was very different compared to our Orlando vacay back in January. I’d say this area is geared towards an adult crowd and may not be suitable for younger ages. The focus was mainly on bars, beaches, and the night life. But hey, I’m not complaining. We had a blast!

The Views

Fort Lauderdale Beach-If you’re looking for some relaxation try visiting the beach on a week day. We beat the crowds by going early morning before the shop areas opened. It was quiet and not crowded at all, such a great place to unwind.

Charter Boat Adventure-Fishing really isn’t my thing but it is my husbands. I was dragged escorted onto a charter boat where we were supplied poles, reels, and bait. With the help of the boat crew, we tried our best to catch some giants (when I say “we” I mainly mean the hubby). Our boat was an afternoon departure and that morning it rained pretty heavily. I think due to that, the water was super choppy and we both ended up getting seasick. Although we got nauseous, this was something I’ve always wanted to check off my bucket list!

Water Taxi-I’d say this is probably one of the smartest things we chose to do during our seven days. The water taxi was $25 a person and transported you to different destinations across the water way. You could travel to a ton of areas without spending money on taxi’s, rental cars, or Uber’s. We were able to stay mobile all day and really took advantage of our surroundings.

Mansion Tour-Taking just a peek into these home owner’s lives was crazy. Multi-million dollar homes is just the norm down there. It was interesting looking at the architecture each mansion had. So much detail! The tour guides did a perfect job of telling stories and making us laugh. 10/10 would recommend.

Las Olas Boulevard-Iguanas were everywhere in this area! But in addition to the bit of wild life we saw, the streets were filled with eating options and small shops. The sidewalks have lots of shade too which makes walking around that much easier.

Small Motorized Vehicles-One of our last days we decided to pick up a small 3-wheeled scoot coupe. The thing only went about 35 miles per hour and was a total death trap, but boy was it fun to whip around. I think for 24 hours we coughed up $130 bucks. Not bad for the fun we managed to have with it!

The Eats

Boatyard-Calamari and tuna mini tacos were delicious appetizers. I also enjoyed a blackberry mojito mocktail that was equally as great as my food.

Big City Tavern-Traditional tavern food with a twist. I had a massive shrimp salad and frozen rose for my beverage. Yum!

Quarterdeck (chain)– I wasn’t impressed with their calamari as it was very fried and over cooked. They did have a sushi special going on though which was average. Unfortunately, this placed did not “WOW” me.

Coconuts-I ordered some type of Asian salad and to my surprise cubed tuna was served on top with a little bit of sai salad. The flavors went well together and I was impressed with how courteous our waitress was! My drink of choice was again, a blackberry mojito but this time featured alcohol (I was not disappointed). We splurged this day and got desert after our meals which consisted of a decadent coconut cheesecake. Smooth, creamy, and tropical!

Bubba Gump (chain)-Shrimp that’s about it. Lol. This was actually my first time visiting the chain restaurant. Nothing special and the service was ehhh.

15th Street Fisheries-We were stoked that this restaurant was a stop we could get off at on the water taxi. I ordered calamari per usual and my husband got a large lobster roll. It ended up being the biggest one we purchased all week. Tasted fresh, people were kind, and you couldn’t beat the view.

Southport Raw Bar-If you like oysters, I’ve found your place. The menu is kept minimal but all the sea food is fresh!

Warsaw Coffee Company-The aesthetic of this spot is me in a nutshell. The menu is packed with employee creations and customer favorites. Avocado toast, options for vegans, acai bowls and coffee that was flavorful. Cute place!

I’d say the rest of our visit was spent relaxing and just spending some much-needed, quality time, with one another – something we haven’t been able to do in what seems like forever. Thankfully, this chapter in our lives only has about 6 months left. Which means, soon my better half will be home for good. Can’t wait!